What a shame as the third is superior to the second one, which feels like it took criticism of there not being enough plot in the first one to heart. Now it adds a dull plot and far less exciting action scenes.

Ah, the bonus features weren’t up when I saw this earlier so I thought it might be pretty bare-bones. I know the idea that Jackie Chan films are actually comic masterpieces worthy of discussion among the greats has become pretty widely held, but I appreciated some label somewhere in the world putting it in their prestige collection to really speak to that, so I’m still a little sad it couldn’t continue, even if the Classics line has developed to probably be a better fit for it.

My theory is that Eureka! is simply trying to increase the presence and respectability of the Eureka Classics label, which is why many of their recent releases (this, Iron Monkey, Flesh + Blood) are much meatier and even more attractive as movies than some of their MoC titles. No doubt if Drunken Master was released today, they'd be using that as a major hook for this effort.

I also strongly suspect that Drunken Master was a testing-the-water one-off, but now that they’ve licensed loads of HK titles in the wake of its success, sticking them all into MoC might have raised eyebrows (to say the least).

I also strongly suspect that Drunken Master was a testing-the-water one-off, but now that they’ve licensed loads of HK titles in the wake of its success, sticking them all into MoC might have raised eyebrows (to say the least).

Be still my heart. I assume you can't say anything regarding potential upcoming titles but this a very exciting development.

My theory is that Eureka! is simply trying to increase the presence and respectability of the Eureka Classics label, which is why many of their recent releases (this, Iron Monkey, Flesh + Blood) are much meatier and even more attractive as movies than some of their MoC titles. No doubt if Drunken Master was released today, they'd be using that as a major hook for this effort.

I also think it's a more nuanced way of releasing these titles, and to encourage pre-ordering. Note that all MoC titles include the booklet as standard, but Eureka Classics of late have 'first pressing only' booklets - taking a leaf ('scuse the pun) out of Arrow's and/or Indicator's book. By making the booklet limited, people may go for the set rather than two reissued discs later on (or perhaps a single Amaray set with the two discs and no booklet).

They've done a similar thing for some MoC titles by adding a slipcover for first pressings, and especially in the last year. Obviously there's more of a built-in audience for MoC but Eureka Classics is a less established name, and though the titles will generally be more familiar with a wider audience, they're the kind of cult films that need a bit more of an incentive for the average collector. Arrow and Indicator do it quite often by making initial Limited Edition versions of films with physical perks (and occasionally extra discs). Curious that Eureka have only done so a few times (e.g. Shane, A Touch of Zen, Man With a Movie Camera).

I also strongly suspect that Drunken Master was a testing-the-water one-off, but now that they’ve licensed loads of HK titles in the wake of its success, sticking them all into MoC might have raised eyebrows (to say the least).

I've said it in another forum but I really do hope they have at least one John Woo title lined up - most likely A Better Tomorrow, as it has been recently restored in 4K by Fortune Star. Some Ringo Lam and more Johnnie To would also be great (e.g. Running Out of Time) and of course more Jackie Chan stuff would go down well (especially Project A). I also saw A Chinese Ghost Story has been restored, and if they really wanted to compete with cult labels like Arrow Video and 88 Films they would do well to pick up something like that too.

But for me, Woo would be a priority. A severe lack of his early work on Western Blu-ray. Hard Boiled and The Killer would be the dream, however unlikely.

Also, if I were in charge of MoC, I'd put Woo under that banner...but let's wait and see what they do.

What a shame as the third is superior to the second one, which feels like it took criticism of there not being enough plot in the first one to heart. Now it adds a dull plot and far less exciting action scenes.

I really like Police Story 2 but would generally agree that it is slower paced that the first and third, though still enjoyable as it does at least feature a few great set pieces including a spectacular explosion sequence and a great fight scene in and around a children's playground. Though the thing that I most remember about Police Story 2 is that Maggie Cheung's girlfriend character gets really badly treated throughout! I seem to remember there is the usual kidnapping aspect later on, but probably the worst thing that happens to her is early on when Jackie just absent mindedly holds onto the straps of her backpack as she is driving off on her moped, which causes her to get dragged off it! (It is the kind of thing that makes Michelle Yeoh's no nonsense mainland China partner in Police Story III: Supercop seem like a necessary counterbalance!)

(If Eureka are picking up a lot of Hong Kong titles, I would highly recommend they try to release The Heroic Trio (and potentially its sequel, though I have not seen that), as that stars Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung and Anita Mui together and is directed by Johnnie To!)

I also strongly suspect that Drunken Master was a testing-the-water one-off, but now that they’ve licensed loads of HK titles in the wake of its success, sticking them all into MoC might have raised eyebrows (to say the least).

For me, the Asian martial arts/action films are the most exiting part of Eureka's recent line-up. So I'm glad these titles are doing well. However, on the other hand, I'm also deeply saddened to see the steady decline of silent films output. Only one title (Dreyer's Michael) so far in 2018...

Police Story (100 mins) – 1080p presentation sourced from the incredible new 4K restoration
Four unique Audio options: Original Cantonese Mono audio track; Restored Cantonese 5.1; Restored English 5.1 dub track AND an additional audio track featuring an alternate English dub sourced from a rare Dutch VHS release of Police Story that has never been officially released on any other version of the film
Newly translated English subtitles
Police Story: The Japanese Cut (105 mins - HD) – Originally released exclusively to Japanese home video, this extended cut of the film was transferred to HD from a film print in 2012 and makes its UK debut here with it’s original Cantonese audio and English subtitles for the first time ever
Police Story: The Police Force Cut (84 mins - SD) – A unique version of the film edited exclusively for the American home video market, featuring a unique dub track and electronic score
Police Story – Alternate and Deleted Scenes, including alternate opening and ending sequences
Archival Interview with Jackie Chan (20 mins)
“Jackie Chan Stunts” – Promotional trailer
Trailers
Collectors Booklet featuring new writing on the film and a selection of rare archival material

Disc Two - Police Story 2

Police Story 2 (121 mins) – 1080p presentation of the extended version of the film, sourced from the incredible new 4K restoration
Original Cantonese Mono audio, along with restored Cantonese and English 5.1 options
Newly translated English subtitles
Police Story 2: The Original Hong Kong Version (101 mins - SD) – The original cut of Police Story 2, presented with it’s original Cantonese mono audio track and optional English subtitles
Optional Audio Commentary with Miles Wood and Jude Poyer (Hong Kong Version of the film)
Police Story 2: Original UK Version (90 mins - SD) – An alternate cut of the film created for the film’s UK VHS release, featuring a unique English dub track
“Jackie Chan” - Son of the Incredibly Strange Film Show (40 mins)
Archival Interview with Benny Lai (15 mins)
Outtakes
Trailers
Collectors Booklet featuring new writing on the film and a selection of rare archival material

No newly produced interviews or video features, but three different cuts of each film is far more than I was expecting.

That's interesting regarding the color grading. From what I gathered, most if not all Fortune Star recent wave of restorations (both 2K and 4K) have been performed by L'immagine Ritrovata. Following another discussion on this forum, it seems like the laboratory have been made aware about the debates over their color gradings and have "fixed" this in 2016. Some of the Fortune Star restorations have been performed in 2017, or maybe even early 2018, and should thus reflect their new grading.

If they graded Iron Monkey, it's very hard to guess they did. It shows pretty much none of the usual Ritrovata signature, save maybe for a handful of interior shots. I certainly couldn't have told it myself, while I usually can spot with a few frames what Ritrovata graded.

It's thus interesting to see that if they also graded PS and PS2, Iron Money is fine, PS mostly fine and PS2 partially "signatured". Depending on when each has been done exactly, this could be interesting in understanding exactly where they're at with this.

Sadly, the Cantonese mono track on Police Story 1 is NOT the original but the weird Media Asia re-mix that was used on the HKL DVD. Music constantly drowns out sound effects and dialogue, and some of the sound effects are not genuine. This is clarified by comparing this with the bona fide English dub and the Japanese print as an extra.